Leighty’s WWE 205 Live Review 01.07.22

-First 205 Live of the New Year. This is a show that no longer has a championship, so I assume as name change is coming at some point, but perhaps Hulu has a contract for 205 Live that has to finish first. Let’s get to it!

-Announce Team: Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuiness
-Taped: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, FL

Malik Blade vs. Draco Anthony

-Crowd is excited for this one! Lockup to start and Anthony gets a hammerlock. Blade turns out and gets a side headlock. Shoulder tackle from Anthony which has Blade a little apprehensive now. Anthony goes to a side headlock and takes it to the mat. Blade ducks a clothesline and connects with a dropkick, but gets caught on a charge and gets planted in the middle of the ring. Anthony drops some elbows to the back and hits a release overhead suplex for two. Blade got some serious height on that one. Anthony goes for a Boston Crab and after struggle from Blade, he is able to get the hold. Blade nearly crawls to the bottom rope, but Anthony pulls him back to the middle of the ring and sits down on the hold. Blade gets his hands to give some leverage and he is able to roll into a pin attempt which gets two. Blade mows him down again, but misses a charge in the corner. Blade hits a leg lariat and version of an ax kick. Running clothesline in the corner and after a exchange of reversals he lands a kick. They fight over a suplex attempt and Blade hits the move. Springboard dropkick gets Blade his first win in NXT at 6:05.

Winner: Malik Blade via pin at 6:05
-Good for Blade to get that first win as it has been a story they have been telling since his debut. Basic, but solid match and they were given a little more time than the opener on this show usually gets. This was fine and a good moment. **1/4

-Royal Rumble commercial and if you saw SmackDown tonight you know the WWE has opened The Forbidden Door!

-Shop WWE commercial!

Nikkita Lyons vs. Erica Yan

-Lockup to start and Yan gets it to the mat with an armbar. She works that for a bit and then gets an armdrag as they get back to their feet. She tries another, but Lyons blocks and grabs an arm. Yan flips out and goes to a standing leg lock. Lyons tries to throw strikes from her back, but Tan avoids, so Lyons uses her power to turn the hold. Lyons avoids a charge in the corner and hits a catapult and floats over with it into single leg Boston Crab. Lyons lands some kicks to the back and then buries a few knees to the back. Bow and Arrow next as she continues the work on the back. Yan gets to her feet and breaks with a headbutt. She throws some strikes, but one kick to the liver ends that comeback. Lyons tries a suplex, but Yan turns it into a small package for two. Ugly sequence as Yan tries a jackknife cover and it goes wrong. They repeat the spot and Yan gets two. She hits a modified neckbreaker for two. Nice move! Backslide attempt seems ill advised and as expected Lyons blocks easily. She lands a head kick and plants Yan with a DDT for the win at 5:24.

Winner: Nikkita Lyons via pin at 5:24
-A little sloppy here, but they worked through it. Kind of a style clash as well. Lyons winning seems to be the right call though. *

-Commercials!

IKEMEN JIRO vs. Ru Feng

-Feng has the size and power advantage in this one. Lockup to start and Feng powers Jiro into the ropes, but misses a knockout blow. Another go and again Feng powers into the ropes. Jiro reverses and offers a clean break. Jiro gets a go behind and then a short arm scissors. Feng gets to his feet and gets a hammerlock into a side headlock. He transitions into an armbar as Nigel informs us this match is being brought to use by Chase University. Nice! Jiro maintains the hold through a hiptoss as Feng is getting frustrated. Jacket Time chant breaks out from the crowd. Jiro lands some strikes as he tries to chop the big man down. He catches Feng with a boot and tries to go up, but Feng trips him and Jiro takes a nasty bump off the top buckle. I sweat it sounds like the crowd is chanting Mortal Kombat at Feng which could be as he looks like someone right out of the game. Feng gets a chinlock and that goes on for a bit before he tries a slam, which Jiro turns into a small package for two. Feng just clubs him down and goes back to the chinlock. Jiro escapes and fights off some kicks and gets a leg whip. He hits a spinning heel kick and then another. He fires off 5 jacket punches and Feng should be dead at this point. Jiro with a dropkick to the knee, but Feng backdrops him to the apron. Jiro drops him throat first on the top rope and comes back with an Asai Moonsault. IKEMEN SLASH finishes at 6:39.

Winner: IKEMEN JIRO via pin at 6:39
-Nice to see Jiro get the win as I thought he would be served us to Feng here. Jiro carried Feng through this one and got a solid match out of him. Feng has a good look and is another one I am curious to see how he develops. This was solid. **1/2

-Thanks for reading!

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

Solid show this week as the opener and Main Event were on the upper end of what we usually get from this show. As a bonus no SQUASHES this week. The middle match was a little rough which keeps this from being a good show, but it was a perfectly acceptable 30 minute wrestling show.